1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a safety binding for a ski, which is adapted to retain the front end of a boot on a ski, and to release the end of the boot when it exerts an excessive force on its binding.
More specifically, the invention is related to the contact plate, that is associated to the front retention element of the boot, and on which the sole of the boot rests.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Support elements that are affixed to the ski or to the base of the binding are known. Generally, these elements are constituted by a base plate on which an anti-friction surface is affixed, most often a polytetrafluoroethylene plate. Such a support element has been described, for example, in French Patent Publication No. 2,533,832.
Support elements that comprise a base plate affixed to the ski and a laterally movable support plate are also known. This support plate, on which the sole rests, can be displaced laterally with the sole. In this case, during release of the boot, the friction is localized between the support plate and the base plate and not between the lower surface of the sole and the support of the boot on the ski.
French Patent Publication No. 2,449,459 describes such a support element, with a support plate that is laterally movable with the element that retains the front of the boot.
German Patent Publication No. 2,333,166 describes another embodiment, according to which the support plate is independent of the jaw, but is connected to the base plate of the support element by an elastic return device.
The support elements that are known have the disadvantage that all the vibrations, jolts or shocks to which the ski is subjected, along a vertical direction, are directly transmitted to the boot. The boot is in fact in direct support on the ski by the intermediary of elements that are non-deformable along a vertical direction.
These shocks and vibrations form a part of the information that the skier perceives by means of his skis, his boots and his bindings. It is on the basis of this information that the skier controls his movements to adjust his position or to execute a turn or to position his running edges, for example.
These shocks and these vibrations, if directly transmitted, are harmful because their amplitude is excessive with respect to the amount of other information that the skier receives. These shocks and these vibrations momentarily mask other information.